Basil Seggos announced in November that he would step down as commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation in early 2019. On Thursday, Seggos announced he has decided to continue as DEC commissioner after realizing he would "forever regret" his decision to leave the agency.

The announcement comes two weeks after several lawmakers at the state budget hearing on environmental conservation praised Seggos for his service while leading the agency since 2015. Before that he was Cuomo's top environmental policy adviser as the governor's deputy secretary for the environment.

Before his career in state government, Seggos served as Vice President of Business Development at Hugo Neu Corporation, a clean tech private equity company; Chief Investigator and Attorney for Riverkeeper; Associate at the Natural Resources Defense Council; and legal clerk at the White House.

In his statement announcing he was staying on, Seggos said New York is a national leader on environmental issues and "this is no time to step out of the fight."

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos Friday announced that the Niagara Falls Water Board violated water quality standards as a result of an August 15 combined sewer overflow discharge that caused a substantial visible contrast to the natural conditions in the Niagara River. The state issued a Notice of Violation to the water board.